Provincial Caretaker Minister for Industries, Commerce, Investment and Skill Development SM Tanveer said on Monday that the Punjab Chambers of Commerce Coordination Committee (PCCCC) would help evolve better economic policy framework. He was speaking at Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) here. Provincial Caretaker Minister for Local Government and Community Development Ibrahim Murad, LCCI President Kashif Anwar, Senior Vice President Zafar Mahmood Chaudhry, Punjab Board of Investment and Trade (PBIT) Chairman Jalal Hassan Khan also spoke, while LCCI Executive Committee members were present. The caretaker minister said that apart from this, the summary of Industrial Police Liaison Committee (IPLC) had been sent to the caretaker chief minister Punjab. “It is hoped that it will be approved soon, which will make it possible to end the problems of theft and law and order in industrial estates,” he hoped. He said that after the approval of IMF loan, payments would also be received from many friendly countries. He said that the industrial estates, in which the plots had been sold out, and the industrial units had not been established, would also be worked out with the help of Lahore Chamber. One of the reasons for the lack of industrialisation was the increase in cost of doing business. He said that issues of WASA charges, SME loans and other such issues would be taken up with the authorities concerned. He said that a Desk of Industries Department should be established at the Lahore Chamber, whose terms of reference (ToRs) should be fixed as soon as possible so that the problems of industries and related departments could be resolved through Lahore Chamber. He said that the Lahore Chamber should give training to all chambers. Provincial Caretaker Minister for LG&CD Ibrahim Murad said that the local government was the main functionary of the government. It looked after the matters like encroachment, building approval, commercialization, TMEs and parking. “Whatever problems may arise in these departments, the local government offices will always be there to solve them,” he added. He said that 130 markets for cattle purchase and sale had been outsourced by the local government across Punjab. These markets generated an annual revenue of Rs 3.7 billion against the expenditures of Rs 500 million. “It has investment potential. Anyone who is interested can benefit. Similarly, parking companies are also owned by local governments,” he disclosed. He said that development fund of the local government was Rs 40 billion. The local government used its own funds to build a road up to five kilometers. Apart from this, there was also an investment of one billion dollars for international projects. “We wish to increase the economy of Lahore from $85 billion to $400 billion,” he vowed. LCCI President Kashif Anwar said that serious economic challenges, which the country was going through at the moment, were having a direct impact on the business activities and the business situation in the country had become very bad. “In order to overcome these economic problems, we have to pay immediate attention towards the promotion of import substitution and at the same time we have to take steps to increase the exports to the desired targets.” He said that the country was facing foreign exchange crisis due to trade deficit, as a result of which banks were having problems in opening LCs. More than 10,000 import containers were still stuck at the port, on which the business community was facing detention, demurrage and port storage charges with every passing day. He said that many of the industries had shut down due to non-availability of imported goods or raw materials and the entire supply chain had been affected and the remaining industries were barely functioning. The LCCI president said that industries had to import a lot of raw materials, essential components and various machineries which were not available in the country, on which they had to pay 100 per cent cash margin, regulatory duties, customs duties and additional customs duties, which needed to be eliminated. Apart from this, the issues of refunds and multiple audits were pending along with reducing the rate of withholding tax for businesses. Kashif Anwar appreciate the performance of Environment Protection Department of Punjab. He, however, added that shutting down of industries to control smog was not the solution to the problem. Other factors should also be controlled. Dumping sites in the city also created pollution. Before taking any action against the business community, prior notice must be sent and Chambers of Commerce must be kept in loop. “We are an import-based economy, our industry is highly dependent on raw material imports,” he said and added that cotton, which was an important raw material of textile industry, produced 9.1 million bales of cotton in 2019-20 which had reduced to 8.3 million bales in 2021-22.